JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Expensive hotel stays, costly airline tickets and thousands of dollars in travel expenses — all billed during the tenure of Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s former CEO Nat Ford — are now in the hands of investigators.
Three separate investigations into JTA’s finances are currently underway, and Ford’s travel records are a focal point of that scrutiny.
$219K in travel costs over nearly a decade
A News4JAX I-TEAM review of JTA travel spreadsheets covering 2016 through 2025 found more than $219,000 in expenses tied to Ford’s business trips. The breakdown:
- More than $80,000 in airfare
- $70,000 in hotel costs
- Roughly $50,000 in conference registrations
Some individual trips draw particular attention. In 2023, records showed Ford traveled to Spain for an international public transportation conference at a cost of more than $9,800 — including nearly $5,300 for airfare alone. That same year, a trip to Germany for an autonomous vehicles conference included airfare topping $4,000.
Two separate trips to London — one in 2022 and one in 2024 — cost more than $16,000 combined. Both were connected to Jacksonville Chamber trips that coincided with Jacksonville Jaguars games played in London.
Investigators examining spending as $40M deficit looms
Jacksonville City Council members are going line by line through JTA’s spending records over the past 10 years. At the same time, investigators with the Florida Attorney General’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office are taking a hard look at Ford’s travel history…